So the obvious answer is "Own a gun and know how to use it. Then get a permit to carry it."

American law has yet to fall into such ridiculous folly in general, and the southern states especially have passed various laws with names such as "Castle Doctrine" establishing your right to defend yourself and your property and denying prosecutors the ability to charge you with a crime for doing so.

Hmm... Interesting. This is the first I've heard of the Castle Doctrine Law. I only hear similar cases like the ones in the article whenever a crime happens in Memphis.

Edited by LordofDarkness (12/24/1008:31 PM)

_________________________"Any group or collective, large or small, is only a number of individuals. A group can have no rights other than the rights of its individual members." - Ayn Rand

"Don't mistake my kindness for weakness. I am kind to everyone, but when someone is unkind to me, weak is not what you are going to remember about me." - Al Capone

"Satanism is not a white light religion; it is a religion of the flesh, the mundane, the carnal - all of which are ruled by Satan, the personification of the Left Hand Path." - Magus LaVey

Ah, my mistake - it's been a while since I checked. However, only specially trained police can carry them, your average bobby has other means of defence and detainment that doesn't involve a firearm.I'm still not sure how I'd feel about owning a gun personally, as there's always a strong possibility that any criminals you encounter would be better armed and more experienced than yourself and you may find that any weapon you own or carry could possibly be used against you.And the general public are not allowed handguns at all, as far as I know. There was one case I heard of that challenged this, but I can't find any information on it so it's not worth posting just the hearsay on here.

Ah, my mistake - it's been a while since I checked. However, only specially trained police can carry them, your average bobby has other means of defence and detainment that doesn't involve a firearm.I'm still not sure how I'd feel about owning a gun personally, as there's always a strong possibility that any criminals you encounter would be better armed and more experienced than yourself and you may find that any weapon you own or carry could possibly be used against you.And the general public are not allowed handguns at all, as far as I know. There was one case I heard of that challenged this, but I can't find any information on it so it's not worth posting just the hearsay on here.

No the general public are not allowed to own handguns.

C.I.D officers carried handguns as standard kit until 1987. A black woman in my home city attacked an officer with a blade and was shot dead.

There were riots on the streets, a subsequent investigation and, after this, firearms were removed from use from all officers except firearms divisions. This is something of a potted history, of course, but it is near enough give or take a year or two.

As for the public, whatever weapon one might choose it is also wise to undertake training in use of said weapon so that the criminal is at the disadvantage and not you.

_________________________
"Unsparing, brave and laced with pathos and truth. u.v.ray is one of the more vivid voices shouting from the sidelines today."

Last time I went through Stansted Airport I noticed a couple of police officers that were outfitted pretty much like those in your picture. My immediate question to myself was: WTF are they going to use those machine guns for in this environment? The only sensible answer I could think of was intimidation - or possibly a policy of reassuring stupid people that if a situation should arise they can and will "do something". However, in any real firefight situation which involves numerous, presumably panicking civilians all over the place, a machine gun is just dead weight. Its only redeeming quality, that it can fire a lot of bullets in a short amount of time, is useless in a situation that calls for tactical precision.

Last time I went through Stansted Airport I noticed a couple of police officers that were outfitted pretty much like those in your picture. My immediate question to myself was: WTF are they going to use those machine guns for in this environment? The only sensible answer I could think of was intimidation - or possibly a policy of reassuring stupid people that if a situation should arise they can and will "do something". However, in any real firefight situation which involves numerous, presumably panicking civilians all over the place, a machine gun is just dead weight. Its only redeeming quality, that it can fire a lot of bullets in a short amount of time, is useless in a situation that calls for tactical precision.

Well, that would be true of any airport, anywhere in the world.

However, your assertion isn't the only sensible answer. They are also ready to be deployed tactically should a hijacking or hostage situation arise - not to start unloading across a populated departure lounge.

You've been watching too many films.

But certainly, intimidation is a practical aspect to their usage. You see that and you don't mess with the fuckers.

_________________________
"Unsparing, brave and laced with pathos and truth. u.v.ray is one of the more vivid voices shouting from the sidelines today."